On the type of non-returnable packages (e.g. for beverages or other liquid foodstuffs) which are manufactured from a plastic-coated paper or other suitable packing laminate, a multitude of different types of opening arrangement are used to enable the emptying out of the packed contents. Opening arrangements of the type which comprise a prepared pouring opening and a tear-off cover strip applied over the same have obvious advantages from a point of view of handling and are encountered fairly frequently therefore on packing containers of the non-returnable type. Packing containers with this type of opening arrangement will be particularly simple to open through pulling off the strip covering and sealing the pouring opening. The opening arrangement also provides good pouring characteristics and most contents can be poured out simply at the required rate and in the form of a well concentrated and easily oriented jet.
To facilitate the pouring out of the contents it is generally preferred to place the pouring opening on the top side of the packing container near one of the edges which delimit the top side from the adjoining side walls. Moreover, the pouring opening is generally placed near a corner. Nevertheless difficulties occur when the packing container is newly opened and thus wholly filled with contents, since on leaving the pouring opening the contents have a tendency to "stick to" the outside of the packing material and run along it around the said packing container edge and all along the vertical side wall of the packing container. The problem is aggravated by the fact that the said packing container edge in most types of packing laminate has a slightly rounded shape and, therefore, does not form a sharply limited, natural pouring rim which could contribute to induce the contents "to let go" of the outside of the packing material.
A solution proposed earlier for eliminating this problem makes use of a loose collar or pouring rim which is applied to the side of the pouring opening where the contents are intended to pour out when the packing container is opened. By designing this collar or pouring rim in a suitable manner and ensuring that it has a sharp finishing edge which is separated from the underlying packing material very good pouring characteristics are made possible. However, the alignment and the attachments of the collar or pouring rim are difficult to realize in modern packing machines operating at high speed, since the collar is very small and has to be fixed with great precision in order to fulfil its purpose in a satisfactory manner. This makes necessary a further operating phase which renders the manufacture more expensive and further complicates the packing machines used.
Other solutions liable to overcome the abovementioned problem are also known and it has been proposed, among other things, to act upon the packing material with the help of e.g. chemical means in such a manner that the area situated around the pouring opening is given liquid-repellent properties so that the tendency of the outflowing jet of contents to follow the outside of the packing material is counteracted. Neither this nor other previously known solutions, however, have met with any great practical success.